International

Why is US vote count taking so long?

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Three days after polls closed, the United States and the world still do not have final results from the presidential election, although Democrat Joe Biden was on the brink of unseating Donald Trump. The wait has fueled tension across the polarized nation, with Trump alleging without evidence that Democrats are engineering fraud. But the delay was widely expected, often for reasons specific to individual states, which under the US […]

Twitter flags ‘president-elect Biden’ posts as premature

  SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Twitter on Friday flagged as premature posts referring to Joe Biden as “president-elect,” as the vote count continued in the knife-edge US election with the Democrat leading Donald Trump in several key states. Tweets referring to the former vice president with the victor’s title and his running mate Kamala Harris as “vice president-elect” were tagged with messages saying counts were not yet final. “Official sources may not have […]

Supreme Court denies immediate halt of Pennsylvania count

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A US Supreme Court justice on Friday denied a request by Pennsylvania’s Republicans to immediately halt the counting of ballots arriving after Election Day — referring the challenge to the full court for a ruling on Saturday. Samuel Alito ordered Pennsylvania in the meantime to continue keeping the late-arriving ballots separate, affirming a decision already made by the state’s top elections official. The last-ditch petition for an emergency injunction […]

Trump erupts as Biden closes in on US presidency

by Sebastian Smith and Shaun Tandon with Peter Hutchison in Wilmington Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump launched a tirade of unsubstantiated claims that he had been cheated out of winning the US election, as vote counting across battleground states early Friday showed Democrat Joe Biden closing in on victory. Biden’s momentum towards the White House built further with major media outlets reporting he had overtaken Trump by a […]

New Zealand’s Ardern sworn in for second term

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was sworn in for a second term Friday, as final election results showed her landslide victory was even bigger than previously thought. The charismatic leader and her ministers made their oaths of office in English and Maori during a ceremony at Wellington’s Government House. “I would say simply that sitting at this table is Aotearoa New Zealand,” Ardern said, gesturing to her gathered team, […]

Eight detained after Vienna attack had previous convictions

by Denise HRUBY VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Eight of those detained following Monday night’s terrorist attack in Vienna had previous convictions, including for terror offences, the Austrian interior minister said Thursday, as the investigation extended to Switzerland and a second, unnamed country. In the wake of the attack in which an Austrian-born man shot and killed four people in a popular nightlife area of central Vienna on Monday night, police arrested a total of 16 […]

Landslides kill 12 as Eta takes a toll on Central America

by Noe LEIVA TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AFP) — The death toll from hurricane Eta rose to at least 12 Thursday as it spun itself out into a tropical depression in Central America, while rising floodwaters and a wake of destruction in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala left thousands without shelter and at risk of landslides. Four people died in landslides in Guatemala, including two children whose fragile family dwelling was swept away. Landslides also claimed the lives […]

Biden at 264 electoral votes, Trump at 214: US media

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden on Wednesday neared the magic number of 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House with several battleground states still in play, as incumbent President Donald Trump challenged the vote count. As it stands, there are five states still left uncalled, including major prizes such as Pennsylvania, and key small state Nevada — meaning both Trump and Biden still have a path to […]

Biden vows to rejoin Paris climate deal on first day in office

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Joe Biden vowed Wednesday that the US would rejoin the Paris climate accord on his first day in the White House, hours after the withdrawal ordered by Donald Trump took effect. “Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden Administration will rejoin it,” Biden tweeted as returns from Tuesday’s election showed him in a strong position to defeat Trump. © Agence […]

US election heads to the courts

  by Paul HANDLEY Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Democrats and Republicans girded Wednesday for a legal showdown to decide the winner of the tight presidential race between Republican Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. After Trump declared overnight he was ready to go to the US Supreme Court to dispute the counting of votes, his campaign announced a demand for a recount in Wisconsin and lawsuits in Michigan and Pennsylvania, […]

Three-year-old girl rescued 91 hours after Turkey quake

by Luana SARMINI-BUONACCORSI with Raziye Akkoc in Ankara BAYRAKLI, Turkey (AFP) — A three-year-old girl was pulled from rubble Tuesday, 91 hours after a powerful earthquake hit western Turkey, offering a ray of hope for grieving families as the death toll soared past 100. But only hours after Ayda Gezgin was miraculously recovered in the hard-hit town of Bayrakli, rescuers found the body of her mother Fidan, 38, in the same room of their destroyed […]

Three dead as weakening Eta batters Nicaragua

by Inti OCON BILWI, Nicaragua (AFP) — Hurricane Eta slowed to tropical storm speeds on Wednesday morning even as it pummeled Nicaragua, killing two people there and one in neighboring Honduras, while unleashing fierce winds and heavy downpours. The storm had hammered impoverished indigenous communities along the coast when it made landfall a day earlier and caused heavy rains throughout much of Central America. “Quite a lot of trees have fallen and traffic has been […]